


What had to be sacrificed

by Squatteur



Series: The forest’s voice [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Angst, Family Fluff, Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-27
Updated: 2020-09-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:01:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26686324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Squatteur/pseuds/Squatteur
Summary: Red talked a lot with Green when he was a kid. He is not as emotive as before, kind of soulless. But does him being silent change how Green sees him?
Series: The forest’s voice [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1941928
Kudos: 3





	What had to be sacrificed

**Author's Note:**

> This is not really a Reguri fanfiction. It’s about their relationship as friends, so please don’t hope that they will get together in this fic. Now that it’s said, enjoy!

“Come on, Red! Let’s go search for some Pokémon!”, a voice shouted.  
It was Green knocking at the door, and quite vigorously on top of that. Red ran at the door and opened it by using a little chair to reach the door’s handle. Green rushed in as if it were a matter of life or death, making Red fall off from his chair. Green didn’t even have the time to apologize that Red’s mom was already here.

“Hey boys, why are you in such a hurry? Sheesh, I already told you to pay attention to your surroundings! Red, why don’t you go upstairs to prepare yourself while I make some hot chocolate for our guest?”  
Red’s mom was kind, but she could also be scary when she wanted to.  
“I’ll be back in about five minutes!”, Red shouted, before disappearing upstairs.

“Now, how about you and I have a little talk, Green?”  
“Sure! Why not?”, Green replied, smiling innocently.  
“So, tell me Green”, she whispered, “what is it that you’re so excited about?”  
"The weather is quite sunny today so there is a good chance we will see lots of Pokémon today! Red seems to be really fond of Pokémon: when he looks at them, it’s as if he’s entering their mind. It’s really funny, because in that slight moment, his face lights up and his eyes start to shine.”  
“You really like him, huh?”  
“Hm, I like him a lot!”, he agreed, opening his arms to show how much he loved Red.  
“Then, can I entrust him to you?”  
“Yeah, because I am going to be the strongest Trainer in the world! I will protect him!”, the little 6 years-old boy claimed, hitting proudly his fist onto his tiny chest.

Red’s mom chuckled. She wasn’t actually worried about her son’s safety, because she knew her son was already independent, but she was worried that he would feel lonely, since he doesn’t have the same interests as kids of his age. She felt relieved and said : “Good, I guess I’m leaving him to you.”  
“Red, are you ready or not?”, she finally shouted.

Little did she know then that Red actually had listened to a great part of the conversation from upstairs, and was just waiting for them to call him.  
“I’m ready”, he blurted out, flustered from what he just heard.

Thus, Green drank in one go the hot chocolate Red’s mom prepared for him.  
“Let’s go!”, he yelled before getting out of the house, holding hands with Red.  
They went into the deep forest and found a cute clearing. The two friends came to enjoy a picnic and eventually observe some Insect-type Pokémon such as Caterpie. They took out their onigiri and ate them slowly, so they could get accustomed with their surroundings.  
“You remember the way home Red?”  
“Hm, just as always!” he replied.  
“Haha, I knew I could trust you!”

Actually, Green trusted Red so much that he didn’t even think about getting lost. Everything went well; they got to see some Caterpie and even some Oddish. But time passed by and the two of them got tired. They went back to the initial clearing so they could rest. Then, Green noticed a Pokémon hanging on a tree. It had the same colour as the leaves of the tree so he didn’t notice it when they first came. Before Red could say even a word, Green threw a rock at it, thinking he could stimulate the evolution of a Metapod into a Butterfree. He was half right. The Pokémon was able to evolve, but it wasn’t a Metapod.

“What have you done? It was a shiny Kakuna!” Red shouted, before taking Green’s hand and running away. He knew it was going to get angry. Anyways, any Pokémon, even a Butterfree, would have been angry at a human throwing rocks at them.  
“O-oh” was the only response Green could give.

The Kakuna evolved into a Beedrill, and chased down the two kids. Hopefully, it was a freshly evolved Beedrill, so it chased them alone. That being said, it was enough to scare Green and Red who only came for a picnic. To make it even harder, the Beedrill was bigger than the ones you can usually see. It was one meter and a half and was incredibly fast. Unfortunately, Red tripped on a rock and the Beedrill was about to pierce him with its dart.

“Roll on the side!”, Green shouted.

Red’s body instinctively followed and by chance, the Beedrill’s attack not only missed, but it also landed on a tree’s root. Red just experienced the fear of his short life. Red would be paralysed by fear if it were not for Green grabbing his hand. His mind went blank, until he heard Green’s voice.  
“We are going to make it!”, he said with confidence, smiling.

While running, the two of them noticed a small cave and hid. Actually, the entrance was so small that the Beedrill couldn’t get in. That’s why the Beedrill tried to widen it. And so, things got a lot scarier. It wouldn’t be surprising if any of those two got a trauma after that. Green was shouting for help, but the wings of the Beedrill covered his screams. The thunder made it even worse. A storm was coming and the Beedrill didn’t seem to be afraid of getting wet. Red was shivering. He couldn’t do anything. He just sat down, covered his ears and closed his eyes. When Green saw that, he stopped asking for help, and just hugged Red. He always thought of Red as his little brother. He did promise his mom that he would take care of him.

“It’s okay, I will protect you Red”, he whispered to Red’s ears.  
Red hugged him back, and wished that he could be the one who could protect him. Green could feel his friend’s heart beating like crazy, and so he held him even tighter to calm him down. But then, Red collapsed in his arms, perhaps because the fear was too intense. At the same moment, the rain suddenly stopped, and Beedrill got back in the forest. Then, just after getting out of the cave, Green felt some dust fall on him, before collapsing.

When he woke up, Red’s mom was by his side. He looked around, but he couldn't see Red anywhere.  
“Where is Red?” he first asked.  
“He is in his room, he needs to rest for now”, she replied. “He has been through a lot, and I assume it’s the same for you”.  
“What happened?”  
“That’s what I’d like to ask you! I found you two lying on the grass, in a clearing. You must have encountered some Paras during your little trip.”  
“Not at all! Some really weird things happened!”, he exclaimed.

Then he explained everything to Red’s mom. She seemed very concerned when she heard his little story. However, when he finished telling what happened, she just smiled and said:  
“My, that nightmare must have been really scary! You have so much imagination for a little boy!”  
EEEEEEEEH?? Just a nightmare? It didn’t feel like one at all, but then, Red’s mom found them in the clearing. Moreover, many details seem off. The probability to encounter a shiny Kakuna is very little, and the chances that it evolves right after being hit by a rock are even smaller. The fact that the Beedrill stopped attacking them, and the sudden change of weather were also really weird. Maybe it was a dream. It must have been a dream.

After that incident, Red didn’t come to school for several days. Green was not even allowed to see him. When they were finally able to meet, Red seemed different. He was not as playful and talkative as before. Actually, he didn’t talk at all, and only communicated with signs. He nodded to say yes, shook his head to say no, and when he needed to say something complicated, he would just frown and try to explain it with hand gestures. Red still played a lot with Green, but it didn’t feel the same at all for him. Red always had his head in the clouds, or at least, it seemed like it. His eyes, which would beautifully shine before, became dull and kind of empty. However, Green noticed that Red’s interest in Pokémon was the same as before. In fact, it might even have increased, and Pokémon seemed to be attracted to him. That only got more on Green’s nerves. Red was more interested in Pokémon than in playing with him. Furthermore, it only made him remember the time he admired Red for his passion.

Then, one day, what had to happen happened. Green stopped coming to Red’s house. It hurt Green that he couldn’t see Red, but if he continued to see him it would have hurt so much more and longer. The one he visited had the same appearance as his best friend but did not feel like it. He felt so bad not being able to keep his promise, that he cried a whole night. He became indifferent to the one he once called his best friend. At school he wouldn’t even give him a look. Everyone saw that something was strange, and finally someone showed up to lecture him. It was his older sister, Nanami. She was only two years older than her brother, but she perfectly fulfilled her role as the eldest.  
“Don’t you think you’re a bit harsh to Red? Didn’t you think about his feelings at all? You’re being rude to him. Go and apologise”, she scolded.

Green sighed and just pouted. Nanami was furious. She was about to slap him but Red stopped her, shaking his head. Nanami looked down, and said to Green that he was a “spoiled child”, before leaving. That was it. He had had enough. People saw that Red changed but didn’t do anything and they even blamed Green for treating him differently.

Green took his decision. He would travel with his father the next time he would come. He couldn’t go with his mom since she always went to dangerous places. His father was a renowned Pokémon Coordinator who travelled across regions to participate in Contests. Sometimes he would even be part of the jury. He was so famous that he actually did some TV shows and radio stuff. Going with his father could only be good for Green. He would get to be with his father, travel, and he wouldn’t have to worry about Red anymore. Moreover, he would be able to learn a lot, not only from his father, but also from other cultures. The only reason why he didn’t go in the first place was because of Red. His sister stayed at Pallet Town because of Red and Green, who she considered as her two little brothers. She also didn’t want to leave Green alone with his grandfather at home because she knew that he couldn’t bring a feeling of family in the household. Green didn’t even think about her and his grandfather because they were actually part of the reason why he wanted to leave. Now, he could go without any regrets. 

***

His father came on a Lapras to pick him up. Apparently, Lapras are said to be an endangered species because of intensive fishing. Now they can only be found in the Sevii Islands and even there it’s really rare to actually see one. The one Green’s father had was saved by him when it was only a newborn. Its mother had been captured by poachers, but thanks to her it managed to hide between rocks. When Green’s father found it, it was starving and was afraid of humans. Now it considers him as his father. For some reason, Lapras always appreciated Green. If it did not, Green probably wouldn’t be able to get on its back.

Green only took a backpack with him, and set sail for Johto, since his father needed to attend a radio program in Goldenrod City. The first weeks went smoothly. Green was able to completely forget about Pallet Town; he was learning a lot from his father about Pokémon, from a different angle than his grandfather’s. If they both loved Pokémon, it was not the same love at all. For Prof. Ookido, Pokémon were a subject of research, while for Juniper, Green’s father, they were living artworks. It may seem like nothing, but it was actually really refreshing for Green. He didn’t have to store a lot of knowledge anymore, and could just appreciate the beauty of Pokémon like an actual 6-year-old child. For once, his mind was clear and everything felt great.

One day though, he received a letter from Pallet Town addressed to him. He waited to be alone in his room to read it. It was just Nanami asking how he was doing. More than that, Nanami had written down the little things that happened in Pallet Town. Green teared up a little and smiled. He felt that her sister actually cared about him. With the letter came a photograph. The moment Green saw it, he started crying and couldn’t stop the flowing river of tears. The photograph showed Red, his mom, Nanami and Prof.Ookido hugging happily. Without him. All this time he was just lying to himself. He actually missed them.


End file.
